Pope Francis

This week brought with it a strange convergence. The story of surreptitious Planned Parenthood videos that appeared to show a doctor haggling with potential buyers over prices for fetal body parts and the story of an American dentist killing Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe collided in an Internet frenzy of charges and countercharges over moral priorities. Animal rights activists and anti-abortion advocates started criticizing each other for their misplaced outrage on social media. Then the debate moved onto a wider media stage. Rush Limbaugh bemoaned the fact some would “cry over Cecil the lion but shrug off Planned Parenthood.” Conservative media watchers claimed major networks...

Sunglasses and lawn chairs will be in order for about 800 parishioners eager to celebrate the 125th anniversary of St. Francis Xavier Church Aug. 2 during an outdoor Mass at Gordon Park in La Grange.
The open-air Mass at 10 a.m. is part of a yearlong...

The Archdiocese of Chicago became the first one in the country to commit to tracking its buildings' energy usage, water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to answer Pope Francis' call last month to protect the planet, officials...

Pope Francis has named a prominent Chicago priest to be one of the next auxiliary bishops in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
The Rev. Robert Barron, rector of University of St. Mary of the Lake, which is also known as Mundelein Seminary,...

Dozens of mayors from around the world demanded Tuesday that their national leaders take bold steps at the Paris climate talks this year, saying that could be the last chance to keep the Earth's warming to levels still safe for humanity.
One by one, some...

When we think of evil, we think of something violent or demonic, something filled with hatred and wretchedly hungry to devour the good.
But what if evil eats a salad at lunch and is polite, speaking rationally with nice table manners?
I've just seen a...

Chicago's Archbishop Blase Cupich offered prayers to inmates during a private tour Tuesday of Cook County Jail before reflecting on the importance of compassion for the prison population.
"My hope would be to let (prisoners) know that they are not...

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Pope Francis urged inmates at Bolivia's notoriously violent Palmasola prison to not despair on Friday as he wrapped up his visit to Bolivia with a message of hope and solidarity for those caught up in Bolivia's corruption-plagued criminal justice system....

Does Catholicism require opposition to animal cruelty, including industrial farming?For two years I taught social studies at an inner-city high school; for six years I ran a Catholic Worker shelter for homeless families. Then, almost 20 years ago, I...

Pope Francis denounced the "throwaway" culture of today's society that discards anyone who is unproductive as he celebrated his first public Mass in Bolivia on Thursday, one of the key days of his South American pilgrimage. It was to culminate...

Burger King has long been providing quick meals. Pope Francis has now used it for a quick change.
With hundreds of thousands of Catholic faithful waiting, Pope Francis needed a place to don his vestments to celebrate Mass at the Christ the Redeemer...

Wrapping up the Ecuador leg of his South American pilgrimage, Pope Francis was heading Wednesday to Bolivia, where church-state tensions over everything from the environment to the role of the church in society are high on the agenda.
Before leaving...

Pope Francis' historic speech to Congress in September will be viewed by tens of thousands on the National Mall in a landmark event to rival any presidential inauguration.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Wednesday the pontiff's Sept. 24...

Pope Francis received a hero's welcome in Ecuador's biggest city Monday as he celebrated the first public Mass of his South American tour, telling hundreds of thousands of faithful their families are the bedrock of society but need to be supported...

The Catholic League is ready to go to Plan B for its football realignment, but Plans C or D might not be far behind.
With Hales deciding recently to drop its program, the conference is down to 18 teams for 2015 and possibly beyond. Because of Hales' late...

People believe all kinds of crazy things. Three out of four Americans believe there are signs that aliens from outer space have visited the Earth. More than 40 percent think that early modern humans co-existed with dinosaurs. As of 2010, Americans on...